Montco man gets lawyer in infant murder-kidnap case

Raghunandan Yandamuri, 26, is shown in this undated photo provided by the Upper Merion Township, Pa., Police Department. Authorities recovered the body of 10-month-old Saanvi Venna not far from where her grandmother was slain and arrested Yandamuri, a family friend who investigators said killed them in a botched ransom kidnapping. (AP Photo/Upper Merion Township Police Department)

NORRISTOWN – An Upper Merion man accused of killing a 10-month-old baby and her grandmother during a botched kidnapping for ransom scheme now has a lawyer to represent him.

Raghunandan Yandamuri, 26, will be represented by defense lawyer Stephen Heckman, former chief public defender in Montgomery County, when he has his preliminary hearing on charges of first- and second-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, theft and abuse of a corpse in connection with the murders of 10-month-old Saanvi Venna and her grandmother, Satayvathi Venna, 61.

Heckman was appointed Friday by a panel of Montgomery County judges to represent Yandamuri.

“The compensation of said appointed counsel is to be borne by Montgomery County,” the judges wrote in the court order.

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The judges appoint lawyers, at public expense, whenever defendants claim they are indigent and cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

Yandamuri is being held without bail while awaiting his preliminary hearing before District Court Judge James Gallagher. That hearing originally was scheduled for Friday but was postponed. A new hearing date has not yet been set.

The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele, Deputy District Attorney Thomas McGoldrick and Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman.

The grandmother was found dead inside her son’s apartment at the Marquis Apartment complex at 251 West DeKalb Pike in King of Prussia on Oct. 22. She died of cuts to her neck and chest, according to county Coroner Walter I. Hofman. Hofman ruled the death a homicide.

Yandamuri, prosecutors alleged, went to the apartment to kidnap the infant and in the process murdered the grandmother, who was trying to prevent the kidnapping. Authorities alleged no one else was involved in the kidnapping plot during which Yandamuri hoped to collect $50,000 ransom.

After the grandmother’s body was discovered, officials announced an Amber Alert for the missing child. Over the next several days police and the public launched an extensive search for the missing baby.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman previously said that during the subsequent search for the missing child Yandamuri, who knew the victims’ family, attended vigils and printed fliers asking for help in locating the baby.

According to Ferman, investigators found a ransom note inside the apartment. The type-written note read, “shiva your daughter has been kidnapped. If you report this to cops your daughter will be cut into pieces and found dead. If you inform this to anyone you will find your daughter body parts thrown into your apartments,” according to court papers.

The note went on to tell the parents that if they wanted their child back they must pay $50,000 by the end of the day. The letter ended by saying the baby is “starving since morning.”

Yandamuri eventually led investigators to the girl’s body, according to court papers. He allegedly told investigators he stuffed a handkerchief into the girl’s mouth and wrapped a towel around her head before putting her in a suitcase as part of the kidnapping.

The body of the child was found in the early morning hours of Oct. 26 under a bench in a sauna or bathroom area in the basement of one of the buildings in the Marquis apartment complex.

Saanvi’s parents immigrated to the United States from India in February 2007 and moved to the Upper Merion apartment in June 2012.

The grandmother had been visiting from India and was scheduled to return home in January 2013.

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.